Heart of The Sea
by Demonic Kagome
Summary: She's lived in the city of water her whole life, swam it's canals and jumped across it's roofs, but she has always felt that the ocean has been calling to her. She dreams of adventure and just maybe she'll take the chance when it's offered to her by the man in the straw hat.


**I... own nothing. T-T**

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The evening was calm and quiet; the only sound was that of the cicadas in the trees and some light splashing sounds coming from a clearing a little ways off.

In the clearing was a clear, freshwater spring fed by a small stream that flowed out of an opening in the side of a side of a rock wall and then fed back through an opening below that in the water.

In the middle a raven haired young woman with her hair pinned up relaxed in the crystal clear water.

This was no ordinary young woman though; this raven haired young woman was known as Kagome Higurashi, the priestess of the Shikon no Tama.

With a sigh she ran her right hand up her arm and watched the droplets of water drip off back into the spring.

Feeling something gently brush against her leg, Kagome placed her hand back into the water and picked up what appeared to be some kind of shed skin, _'Shippo would have liked this, maybe I'll take it to his grave tomorrow.'_

She turned her head up when she felt the tears start to well up in her eyes and looked up at the stars that peeked through the clouds as the memories of the final battle washed through her mind.

Sometime during the battle the well, her only way back home had been destroyed; from there it only got worse.

She watched as Inuyasha died trying to protect Kikyo.

She watched as Naraku laughed maniacally as he ripped Inuyasha's heart out of his chest and crushed it.

Naraku had then taken advantage of her distraction to launch a barrage of tentacles at her back.

But they never hit her.

At the last second Shippo, the fox demon child she had taken in as her own pushed her out of the way and took the hit, the tentacles ripping him to shreds.

The rest of the battle was a blur; all she could remember was a burning, heart wrenching pain, then numbness, and then nothing.

When she woke up it was to Sango and Miroku sitting over her.

They were overjoyed when she woke up; however the numbness remained.

When she had asked about what happened they were hesitant to tell her.

That was when Sesshomaru walked in.

He wasted no time and no words as he told her about how her powers erupted out of her, purifying every demon in her path as she recklessly launched herself at Naraku and killed him.

After that she went after his incarnations and minions until she finally burned out and collapsed.

Miroku then handed her the Shikon.

Looking at the gem broke the dam in Kagome's mind and the tears of pain and loss flowed down her cheeks as she screamed her pain.

A couple of days later when she was able to stand they held a burial for Shippo and Inuyasha; the villagers had already burned their remains, now they were burying the ashes beneath the Goshinboku.

Kagome's tears had slowed to a trickle as her hand clenched around the jewel.

No matter how much she wanted to Kagome couldn't bring herself to blame the jewel or Midoriko, after all it wasn't like the ancient priestess could have known that her actions would bring about the consequences that they did.

Shortly after the funeral Sesshomaru had stood before her and told her that the way she had lost control was disgraceful even if it allowed them to win.

Her lips tugged up in a slight smirk as she remembered how he practically demanded that she be trained by him so as to not cause herself 'further embarrassment'.

It had been a year since then and Kagome had improved greatly.

She was taking a break from her evening training when she came across the spring she was bathing in outside of the Palace of the West.

A sudden shift in the air had Kagome tensing, but she was unable to slip into a defensive position before she was caught by Kikyo's soul collectors.

When she was unable to purify them Kagome glared at the tree line where Kikyo stepped out, "So you finally show yourself after a year. I take it that you've sorted out the memories in your head."

The undead priestess's eyes narrowed, "So you knew. How long."

"Since a month before the final battle, a portion of your true aura leaked out Urasue."

The undead woman's face twisted in a smirk, "And yet you didn't tell your precious puppy and allowed him to believe that I was his beloved Kikyo."

"I wasn't about to crush his hope that the woman he loved had been brought back from the dead."

"How sweet, but now it's time for you to hand over my jewel."

Kagome grit her teeth as Urasue trailed her gaze to the pink jewel that rested in the hollow of Kagome's throat, "Over my dead body."

Urasue's twisted smirk became maniacal as she pulled a dagger from her robes, "Perfect choice of words."

With a flick of her wrist the undead witch threw the blade and watched with satisfaction as it sank into the flesh of Kagome's belly as the young priestess cried out in pain.

Blood seeped from the wound and into the clear water as the blade sank in to the hilt; a dark energy exploded off of it, destroying the soul collectors that kept Kagome bound, "Do you like that soul crushing agony? I hope you do, after all it took me a year to create this curse."

Kagome dropped to her knees in the water finding it hard to breathe, _'D-damn it, the curse is spreading faster than my powers can purify it.'_

She glanced down at the jewel before bringing her hand up to grasp it, _'I can't let her get the jewel, who knows what she's planning to use it for.'_ with that last thought in mind Kagome poured the last of her strength into the jewel and purified the demon souls inside causing the jewel to disperse into the air.

"NO!" came Urasue's enraged scream.

Kagome smirked tiredly, "Looks like you lose you undead parasite."

Just as Urasue was about to charge at the barley conscious priestess the clouds parted and the full moon shone down on the spring causing it to shine brightly and forcing Urasue to shield her eyes.

Kagome could feel her consciousness slipping as a pair of arms wrapped around her and a gentle voice spoke, "You need not fear Kagome, you have done well. Now sleep my child and when you next awaken you will be safe. You will be home."

Lulled by those comforting words Kagome felt her eyes drift shut as sleep welcomed her with open arms while she and the figure that held her were enveloped in a bright white light.

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3 Years Later

It was a calm and peaceful morning on Scrapyard Island in Water 7, the sun was shining the birds were singing and all was serene, **"KABOOOOM!"**

Never mind.

"FFFFRRRRAAAANNNNKKKKYYYY!" a young man with long, shaggy purple hair yelled in fury as he raced towards the explosion to find the younger, blue haired man (not that he would ever call Franky a man) coughing up smoke and covered in ash.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! It's too early for you to be blowing crap up!" he shouted in fury as he smacked the younger shipwright in the back of the head.

"Shut up Ice-for-brains, I was testing out my new cannon design with the kid when-" Franky's eyes widened as he frantically looked around them, "Shit, where is she?! Kagome!"

A small cough answered him and both turned to where the sound came from as a previously disguised child-like figure peeled themselves from the wall leaving a perfect silhouette behind.

The figure blinked their eyes open revealing large, sapphire blue eyes as a light blue tail with a white underside swayed behind her, "I'm okay."

The purple haired male was quick to scoop up the child as he looked her over before he glared at Franky, "What the hell were you thinking, she could have been seriously hurt!"

Franky grit his teeth, "Would you calm down Icebarg, she already told you she's fine. Besides, you and I both know she can take a hit better than any full grown man."

"That no excuse, she's still a four-year-old kid you idiot!" he turned his head to the child in his arms as he began to walk off, "We should get you cleaned up."

The child pouted (not that anyone could tell) but relented when she looked down at herself.

Icebarg made his way back to the warehouse that made up their home, a smile tugging at his lips when the sign, 'Toms Workers' came into view.

As he passed through the doorway Icebarg called out, "Hey, Granny Kokoro! Can you warm up some water, Kagome needs a bath!"

Kokoro, a tall, middle-aged blond woman walked out of the living area and collected the child from Icebarg, "Already? That must be a new record, well don't worry kiddo we'll get you clean in no time and then you can get back out there."

A bright white toothed grin appeared on the child's face, contrasting sharply with her charcoal appearance, "Okay!"

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'Splash!' Kokoro laughed as the little girl shivered as the bucket of water splashed over her, taking the last of the ash that coated her with it and the cool air hit her small body.

She brushed the girl's hair out of her face and off of her fin like ears with a fond look in her eyes, it had been three years since Tom had found her in the in the scrapyard a lot like when he first met Franky except that Kagome was a helpless infant who looked to be only a year old.

She was wrapped in a blanket and layed, lightly floating in the water, sleeping.

There was nothing on the blanket to tell where she had come from or who her parents were, and when Tom unwrapped the blanket to check the rest of it he quickly discovered her unique appearance.

In place of ears she had a small pair of fins and wrapped over her stomach was a small, pale blue tail with a white underside.

After getting over his surprise, Tom had noticed that the last corner of the blanket that rested over the child's chest was embroidered with a name, Kagome.

Then the baby yawned and her eyes opened revealing large, sapphire blue eyes that stared at him in bright curiosity.

It had taken Tom no time to decide what to do, and so he gently rewrapped her and carried the precious bundle back to the office.

She had quickly wormed her way into all of their hearts and had become a part of their small, rag-tag family and had shown herself to be be exceedingly smart for her age, so much so that she had begun her shipwright training after her third birthday.

So far the girl was able to draw up halfway decent blue prints, Tom had even framed her first completed ones of a small Caravel on the wall in the living area after she managed to build the ship in her design (with a little help of course).

It wasn't until after her fourth birthday that Tom allowed her to help them with the Sea Train, though he did keep a very close eye on her.

He certainly got a good laugh out of his two male apprentices as they freaked out when the little girl carried metal objects that a full grown man would struggle with, _"That's my girl, she's got gusto!"_

Kokoro shook her head with mirth as she finished drying Kagome off and helped her get dressed in some fresh clothes that Icebarg grabbed for her, then let the girl run off, back to the scrapyard.

"Just one year to go, one year until all of their hard work pays off. I know they can do it."

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 **I know people have been asking me to update my other stories, but this would just not leave my head alone. I also want to thank Pikaace whose story, "The Smallest Straw Hat" helped inspire this. Please review if you want me to update!**


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